In praise of Page 8
Page 8 of the Taipei Times was on fire on Oct. 20.
The editorial “Missiles, leaks and really odd timing,” makes it abundantly clear that Democratic Progressive Party forces within the military leaked information on missile tests so that economic cooperation framework agreement (EFCA) talks got pushed back. No surprises there, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) don’t want any missile news on their radar. Pun intended!
If the tests were successful, does the KMT government want it hushed up? Probably, as it doesn’t want to appear either capable or aggressive in the wake of “talks.”
Then there was “Closing schools and low birthrates.” While reading the penultimate paragraph, a sudden vision kept coming into focus. This paragraph is what an ECFA will lead to, as has been noted frequently in the Taipei Times (and imagery-wise, it’s scary!)
Jerome Keating’s piece was ... how to put it? On the mark? Correct! Funny? Certainly! To me, it is a very good critique of Mr President.
As for “Illusions about Chinese goodwill,” you can see what you get when you deal with the Chinese. The Dalai Lama fled after making agreements with the CCP; Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) got 100 years even though he too arranged agreements with the CCP during his term as president.
Chen was labeled a troublemaker and now anyone who opposes the KMT-CCP alliance is labeled the same.
With the government weak and eager for the EFCA agreement, invocations of mass layoffs are quite frightful. Moreover, leaders who have done deals with China always appear to eventually be punished. Someone’s got something coming to them.
Taipei
The NCC responds
Regarding the story “NCC criticized following Hoklo, China complaints,” published in the Taipei Times on Oct. 16 [page 2], the National Communications Commission (NCC) finds the questioning of its behavior, which carried the implications of contentious action and even violation of freedom of speech, grossly inaccurate. To deepen understanding of the facts, the NCC wishes to clarify its position on this case.
The NCC, as an independent regulatory body responsible for the Taiwanese broadcasting industry, invariably manages public opinions in a professional manner consistent with the law. According to Article 11 of the Public Television Act (公共電視法), the service shall operate independently without interference.
In addition, Article 46 of the same law stipulates if a viewer considers that a Public Television Service (PTS) program has violated the provisions of Article 36 to Article 41, he/she may send a written complaint with specific facts to PTS within 15 days of the broadcast of the program. PTS shall state its reasons and the methods for reconsideration in case the complainant does not accept its disposition, in a written response to the complainant within 30 days of receiving the complaint.
Therefore, while the NCC accepts public opinions on PTS broadcasts, they are invariably handed over to PTS to be dealt with by its own law and concerns.
This is a fundamental principle that the NCC or the former official authority have always acted in accordance with. Thus, any accusation of restricting freedom of speech is simply untrue.
The media are enterprises of special permission and social instruments. In addition, PTS “belongs to the entire body of citizens” and has been established as a mass communication system for the public.
Consequently, audiences usually show higher expectation for PTS and its programs.
Hence, PTS should consider and respect public criticism and exercise self-examination to help serve its social responsibility more effectively.
DR BONNIE PENG
Chairperson,
National Communications Commission
A Chinese diplomat’s violent threat against Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi following her remarks on defending Taiwan marks a dangerous escalation in East Asian tensions, revealing Beijing’s growing intolerance for dissent and the fragility of regional diplomacy. Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian (薛劍) on Saturday posted a chilling message on X: “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off,” in reference to Takaichi’s remark to Japanese lawmakers that an attack on Taiwan could threaten Japan’s survival. The post, which was later deleted, was not an isolated outburst. Xue has also amplified other incendiary messages, including one suggesting
Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian (薛劍) on Saturday last week shared a news article on social media about Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan, adding that “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off.” The previous day in the Japanese House of Representatives, Takaichi said that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute “a situation threatening Japan’s survival,” a reference to a legal legal term introduced in 2015 that allows the prime minister to deploy the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The violent nature of Xue’s comments is notable in that it came from a diplomat,
Before 1945, the most widely spoken language in Taiwan was Tai-gi (also known as Taiwanese, Taiwanese Hokkien or Hoklo). However, due to almost a century of language repression policies, many Taiwanese believe that Tai-gi is at risk of disappearing. To understand this crisis, I interviewed academics and activists about Taiwan’s history of language repression, the major challenges of revitalizing Tai-gi and their policy recommendations. Although Taiwanese were pressured to speak Japanese when Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, most managed to keep their heritage languages alive in their homes. However, starting in 1949, when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) enacted martial law
“Si ambulat loquitur tetrissitatque sicut anas, anas est” is, in customary international law, the three-part test of anatine ambulation, articulation and tetrissitation. And it is essential to Taiwan’s existence. Apocryphally, it can be traced as far back as Suetonius (蘇埃托尼烏斯) in late first-century Rome. Alas, Suetonius was only talking about ducks (anas). But this self-evident principle was codified as a four-part test at the Montevideo Convention in 1934, to which the United States is a party. Article One: “The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: a) a permanent population; b) a defined territory; c) government;
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